'Disappointed': Will Bezotte be disqualified? Livingston County Clerk to decide
LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Whether Republican State Rep. Bob Bezotte will be disqualified from running for re-election remains to be seen.
But a determination will likely need to come quickly if the Livingston County Clerk's Office plans to meet the deadline for preparing ballots.
Livingston County Clerk Betsy Hundley told The Daily on Tuesday she is reviewing attorney Dan Wholihan's complaint and a signed affidavit from Bezotte's estranged wife Shelia.
Wholihan, who is married to Republican candidate Kristina Lyke, alleged Bob Bezotte falsified his home address on his Affidavit of Identity when he filed to run for re-election.
The Bezottes are in the process of getting a divorce. Shelia has accused Bezotte of mental, emotional and physical abuse in her divorce filing, originally reported by The Detroit News.
In her signed affidavit, she says Bezotte hasn't been living at their marital home in Marion Township, which he listed as his home address, since December. She says he's stayed at the mailing address he provided, one of their daughters' homes, which is also located in Marion Township.
Shelia said she has safety concerns.
"If (he) states on his affidavit that he resides at the same house ... he may re-enter the marital house."
Bezotte, who serves the 50th District, did not respond to requests for comment, but previously denied any abuse when announcing a last-minute decision to run for re-election.
"It is known that (Bezotte) has spent much of the past five months in either Arizona or in Illinois, even though he currently is a sitting representative," Wholihan's complaint reads. "In addition, when he is not dwelling in Arizona or Illinois, he is staying at the 'mailing address' he provided."
Before announcing he'd run after all, Bezotte previously endorsed two other GOP candidates for the seat: Jason Woolford and Lyke. Republican Dominic Restuccia and Democrat Austin Breuer are also running.
County reviewing complaint
Hundley is working with a county attorney to review the complaint, and expects her decision might come by next week.
State election law is "fairly vague" on how to handle this type of challenge, Hundley said. "Michigan election law has its own definition of what a residence is."
State election law MCL 168.11 Sec. 11 defines a "residence" as "that place at which a person habitually sleeps, keeps his or her personal effects, and had regular place of lodging.
"If a person has more than one residence, or if a person has a residence separate from that of his or her spouse, that place at which the person resides the greater part of the time shall be his or her official residence for the purposes of this act."
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Time is of the essence, with the Michigan Bureau of Elections planning to meet May 31.
"I don't have any idea if this is going to find its way to the court system," Hundley said, adding she'd expect the courts to "fast track" any legal challenges that could follow her decision.
Bezotte's fellow Republican candidates aren't happy.
"All I know is that Bob's not speaking the truth here," Lyke told MIRS.
Woolford told MIRS hundreds of people called his campaign following Bezotte's decision to run.
“They are angry. They are disappointed and disgusted. Those are their words,” Woolford said.
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: 'Disappointed': Will Bezotte be disqualified? Livingston County Clerk to decide
